IROC DRIVERS TEST ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY FOR SERIES FINALE

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

The Crown Royal International Race of Champions Series (IROC) tested at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Monday, May 9 and Tuesday, May 10 in preparation for their season finale race. While the 100-mile event features 12 drivers from different disciplines of auto racing, the hidden heroes of the IROC Series are their test drivers. Three were on hand during the two-day test to dial in the cars for Atlanta event: Dave Marcis, and the father and son duo of Jim and Jay Sauter.

"IROC is going to have a real good race at Atlanta this fall," said Jay Sauter. "The tires feel good in every groove. The cars are driving well and you can go anywhere you want on the racetrack. We are running wide open and have a lot of corner speed. You get the draft effect like Daytona and when you get 12 cars out there at one time, it makes for great racing."

IROC's focus for the test was getting the cars to handle and draft well.

"We ran mostly in groups of three to evaluate how the cars move in the air," said Dave Marcis. "We have found a lot of options with the adjustability of the cars to dial the cars in with any variance with the air temperature when we return in the fall."

The Atlanta IROC race, held on Saturday, Oct. 29, as part of the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 weekend, will be the championship event of a four-race schedule, which will include stops at Daytona, Texas and Richmond. The series champion will receive a $1 million purse following the finale in Atlanta. After the first two-races run at Daytona and Texas, Mark Martin leads the series with 42 points at the halfway mark.

The IROC race will be part of a star-studded fall race weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The weekend kicks off with Georgia-Pacific Qualifying Night on Friday, Oct. 28, when the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup drivers will be pushing to break the track record at NASCAR¿s fastest track. Immediately after qualifying, the new Legends All-Star race called ¿The Atlanta Invitational¿ will take to the track. The action continues on Saturday with the Easy Care Vehicle Service Contracts 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race, followed by the championship IROC race. The weekend culminates with the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 on Sunday, Oct. 30.